Existential Crisis
by Cervus-Vampirius
Summary: A drunken Damon converses with an unwilling, delirious, and dying Jessica while she plays therapist in a bargain for her life. Will she survive to tell of the encounter? Damon/Jessica, Tyler/Caroline, some Delena.
1. One Fateful Night

A/N: I have not put up a fic in many years, though I am often here reading. This may be a one-shot or may evolve into a longer story. I have some ideas for extending it but it depends on where my muses send me. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

* * *

'_My hair's getting dirty.' _Oddly was the first thought that came to her. It had hurt so much at first. The ground had come up at her hard but she felt little pain at this point. The asphalt was rough beneath her head and she was sure she'd given herself a concussion when she'd went down- not that that was her biggest concern at the moment. She was laying on her side, seeing the vaguest outline of trees. Her hands sought out her neck, where her heart still pumped what little remaining blood she had out through the veneer of her skin. She managed to stop the flow of the oozing wound, but a small puddle was already beneath her, staining her clothes and getting into her hair.

Jessica had never been one for blood. She freaked out at the sight of it, just like she freaked out when she saw a spider or a snake. She wasn't brave at all, yet she had stopped here in the middle of the night to help a person laying out in the road whom she had thought was in trouble: her killer. It hadn't even registered that he might be faking, that he might be dangerous.

"Please don't kill me." She whispered to the dark. She didn't see him anymore and wasn't even sure he was still there, but she also couldn't really move her head and there was a darkness creeping on the edges of her vision. The pain had become a dull memory, but she still knew her predicament and still wanted to live. For a long moment, she heard nothing but the dull rumble of her car, still on and waiting to take her away from all this. Then a dark, humorless chuckle reached her ears, informing her that he was indeed still present and listening.

"Should have finished you off." His speech was still slurred, but he sounded calmer. "Don't know why I didn't... but it doesn't matter. You'll be dead soon."

She wanted to protest, but as she thought about it, he was probably right. "...Do you feel better now?" She asked sincerely, She must have been light-headed from the blood loss, belatedly realizing what an odd thing it was to ask of her killer. He seemed to think so too, for he laughed a rich, genuine laugh.

"Well Jessica, no, I don't feel better. Not at all." He said as if confessing a dark secret. "I can't be human again, so I try to embrace what I am. Not feel, but I still feel. She was right, I feel _everything. _But what does it change? I can't have what I want... and neither- neither can you."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed, like they were out of her favorite flavor at the ice cream parlor. It was strange, she had been so afraid of him earlier, afraid to die, but now it just felt something like _oh well..._ "I always wanted to have my life mean something. Die for a reason."

"Can't have that either." He whispered, sounding both sensitive and intoxicated. "You don't get to be the hero, y'know... save the babies and win the damsel in distress. You die alone, senselessly, like everyone else. There's no such thing as a happy ending."

She took a deep breath, and he waited expectantly for her last words, philosophical and wise- befitting a dying woman. "You're pretty fucked up aren't you?" She said with a rasp and a gurgle.

He looked at her incredulously for a moment and then another laugh rang out, diffusing the tension. Apparently he thought she was funny. "What an understatement."

Silence settled for a moment, Jessica's mind was racing as fast as it's oxygen deprived neurons would carry it, knowing only that she had to keep him talking, keep herself talking if she were to have a chance.

"She's not going to forgive you, you know." Jessica said, trying one last time to reason with him, remembering his drunken ramblings from before he'd dealt the fatal blow. "Whoever she is. Murder's pretty high up on the not good things to do list."

He went utterly silent for a moment. A lump had formed in his throat and a pang in his heart. "I'm not very good at being good." It was Jessica's turn to laugh, which was a mistake. Blood welled in her mouth, some of which she aspirated, but she managed to keep breathing.

"I can tell." She finally replied. "Can I at least know what your name is?"

"Damon." He replied honestly.

"Damon." She repeated. "Will you come out where I can see you?"

He did, seeming to materialize from the dark, stumbling like a drunken sailor, in spite of his lightning quick movements earlier. Her blood covered his lips looking like he'd been sucking face with a cheap whore. Tears streamed freely from his river-blue eyes. _'What a horrible, pitiful sight,' _she thought.

"You know, you're not bad looking. Too bad about the whole homicidal maniac bit." She said deliriously. Damon couldn't help but smirk at the ego stroking, but his face soon warped in conflict. "So you're going to keep pretending to be what she wants, all the while participating in questionable nocturnal activities?" She challenged.

"You know, it doesn't even matter?" He said, defeated. "She doesn't want me, no matter what I do, and she never will. But I... I keep trying s-so hard to be good and it just isn't my nature anymore, but I keep trying because... because I love her."

"Pretty fucked up way to show it if you ask me." Jessica said snappishly.

"Yeah, it's not every day you realize that nothing you do is going to change who you really are no matter how much you try to fake it. Nothing's gonna get better and even if you do everything right, life will still fuck you over."

"You're too pessimistic." She tried to move her feet, somehow feeling better, but she barely flinched.

"Says the dying one." He continued to approach her and sat down beside her. She didn't even protest as he lifted her bleeding head into his lap. Settling comfortably into his limbs, she pondered the oddness of the scene.

"I don't have to die. I don't really want to." She whispered. He could sense that she had little time at this point. "You could save me."

"You ask this of the villain that tied you to the train tracks in the first place." She felt the weight of his hand on her head and realized he was running his fingers through her matted bloody hair.

"Well, I need a hero. A hero needs a damsel in distress." She pointed out.

"Your offer is weak." He chided as he worked out her tangles.

"I'm young, I'm healthy- was healthy. I have a family and people who care-"

"I don't care." But he cut her off too quickly and she saw his weakness, how her words affected him.

"But _she_ would care. That means you have to care. She'll never forgive you if I die. Why _would _she love you, knowing you were capable of this?"

He paused. Were Elena here, she would be screaming, crying, and begging him to save the life of this stranger. But Elena wasn't here. This girl had fallen for the oldest trick he knew, and had the audacity to bargain for her life.

'_Rose would have saved her too, wouldn't have wanted me to do this.'_ Suddenly it became a question of which 'she' Jessica was talking about.

She scoffed, or tried to, but it came out as a burble. "You think you're evil, but if you were, you wouldn't be here, a drunken mess crying on my shoulder about the injustices of the world. Lashing out. Crying for help." She was losing her fight with consciousness. "You're more human than you think."

He didn't respond, he didn't have to. She had passed out.

Out of nowhere he felt a heavy disappointment settle over his heart, weighing on his conscience. He had enjoyed talking to her. Would he kill this girl just to try to prove a point to himself?

Her heart slowed. Soon it would stop. He had a decision to make and would have to make it quickly.


	2. Dreams and Hangovers

A/N: I decided to go ahead and put up another chapter. I like the first chapter as a stand alone, but I'm curious to see where this takes me.

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Jessica awoke with a shuddering breath, sitting up and crying out as though it were the first breath she'd ever taken. Her heart pounded wildly with new life. Sweat covered her skin as her eyes whipped around the room, disoriented, before finally focusing on her bedroom window.

She was at home, in bed. It had all been a nightmare.

'_But it felt so real.'_

Still shaking in the aftermath of the feelings she had experienced in the dream world, she sunk deeper into her pillow, feeling the gravity while she imagined that the fear, anger, and disappointed acceptance were seeping out of her skin. It was as if she'd gone through the Kübler-Ross stages of dying in her sleep.

She peeked at the red numbers of the digital clock on her bedside table and groaned. It was five in the morning and she felt like she hadn't slept at all. _'that's what you get for staying out so late.' _

She had volunteer work in three hours at Mystic Meadows Nursing Home. She didn't know why she did it. She didn't like old people or their bodily fluids, plus she wasn't getting paid. If nothing else though, it was a boon to her resume. Her prospective future employer would take it as an interest in developmental psychology. Not that she wasn't learning.

Jessica was a psychology major at Longwood University in Farmsville, just down the road from Mystic Falls. She wanted to become a Psychiatrist upon graduating. This was her second year, putting her at a ripe old age of 20. She lived off campus with her roommate, Leslie, who was always at her boyfriend's so it was kind of like living alone.

The anxiety had gone away. In spite of terrifying her, she was curious if that dream had had some deeper meaning, though she had no idea why she'd see herself killed by a vampire. Vampires tended to symbolize an attractive figure that was ultimately bad for you. _'Well he fit that perfectly, didn't he?'_

She could still see the tears streaming down his beautiful face.

She shivered. She should be glad her murderer wasn't real, but she couldn't help but feel a little regretful. He'd been so sad. _'And hot.' _

The blood draining represented stress and exhaustion. She looked forlornly to the unsympathetic clock again. _'Bingo.'_

She settled into bed, trying to find that elusive comfortable position. At some point she drifted off to sleep. She dreamt that all her eyelashes had fallen out and were being held out for her to blow away. A wish for each. A masculine voice overlaid the imagery.

"_Everything that happened tonight was a dream."_

She found her dream self repeating whatever the voice said.

"_You won't remember my name."_

Again, she obediently repeated his words.

"_Do you have anyone waiting at home for you?"_

"_No."_

"_Good, then just remember that there was an accident and you had to take a detour to get home. You got lost."_

"_It was such a pain, thought I'd never get home."_

"_But you will. Then you will take all the clothes you are wearing tonight and bury them where no one will look. You will not remember doing this, you didn't like them anymore and gave them away. You will then clean yourself and go to bed."_

"_I better get home. I am awfully tired."_

"_Good, just one more thing-"_

Her alarm startled her from sleep and she hit the snooze button with irritation. Maybe tonight was the night of weird dreams. A part of her nagged, wondering what the voice was going to say.

She reluctantly flipped on the light and swept her feet onto the cold floor. She hated the feeling of getting up early on a Saturday more than anything, but the residents weren't going to talk to themselves. _'Well, most of them anyways.'_

_

* * *

_

Super speed, lightning reflexes, communication with animals, and to top it all off, immortality, but even after 170 years, Damon wasn't sure what to do about a hangover.

Stefan stepped into his room and Damon groaned sarcastically between throbs of pain, "Please ma, please just five more minutes."

Stefan said nothing, but held out a blood bag for his brother. Damon shot him a suspicious look.

"B+ …brother knows best." He drank it down in moments. It wasn't so much the blood as the hydration, but it eased the pain. Stefan was still standing there, looking like his typical conflicted, brooding self. However, he didn't usually direct that pensive energy towards Damon. Damon responded with a sigh of annoyance. "Hovering is a bad color on you, baby brother, so just spit it out."

"I'm sorry about what happened to Rose. I know you two were close." He said, looking sincere and deep. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Water under the bridge. We were going to kill her when she kidnapped Elena anyways… just think of it as a delay." He responded coldly.

Stefan saw right through the macho act. Damon knew it and Stefan knew he knew it, but as long as neither one of them acknowledged it, they would be fine. God, why did he have to be on the receiving end of those _pitying_ eyes? "Look, I'm fine! Just go. I'm fine!"

Stefan gave him a long hard look and then nodded, leaving his room.

"…I'll be fine."


	3. Der Steppenwolf

A/N: Thank you to those who have added my story to your favorites and Alerts. Review, review, my kingdom for a review. I've been out of the game a little while, kids. Please let me know if you're enjoying this or if I'm babbling like a senile ant.

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His eyes opened the moment her foot landed on the threshold of the old boarding house. Humans really didn't realize how much noise they made. He could tell that it was Elena, from her specific size and gait. The sound of her steps were as unique as her fingerprints.

He knew why she came here; to make sure he didn't go on a rampage, but that moment had come and gone like his hangover. In truth he wasn't in the mood to see her, too exhausted from his own thoughts.

He wanted to feel alive again. Humans did daring things to remind them of their mortality- jumping out of airplanes and swimming with sharks… but Damon would probably walk away from a plane crash unharmed and he knew from experience that he could beat up a shark.

…Long story.

For better or worse, he decided to keep up appearances. He was out of bed and down the stairs a mere moment later. He loved the way she jumped when her slow human senses finally realized that he was behind her. That little moment of fear and uncertainty tickled him every time.

He was equally touched by the fact that she relaxed fully once she realized who it was. For some reason she trusted him completely. Whether that was a mistake on her part, he wasn't sure just yet.

"Damon!" She started, that damnable look of concern on her face "How are you feeling?"

'_Did my brother send you to check up on me, or are you here because you want to be?' _"Oh I'm doing fine." He said, pointedly looking her over with a flirtatious smirk, "Very, very fine."

Predictably she rolled her eyes and pushed his shoulder, walking past him in a huff. Good. This was how things were supposed to be between them. He would flirt and she would take offense. Everything is normal, all is right.

'_By the way, I almost killed some poor helpless girl last night, but it's cool, I gave her enough of my blood that she probably got drunk and it'll be in her system for months. Hope she doesn't accidentally get killed cause I didn't bother with last names.' _He smiled as she gave him a semi-disgusted look from over the shoulder which he returned with his trademark smoldering eyes. "And to what do I owe this pleasure?"

She looked back at him shrugged, trying to play it down. Apparently she hadn't thought that far ahead. "I was just…" She trailed off and looked around before picking up a book at random. "grabbing your copy of uh… Der… step-steppen…"

"_Der Steppenwolf? _In the original German?" He raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Yeah… it's for class." She shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

"Elena…" He said in the warning tone of an all-knowing parent and gave her a pointed look. She returned it with an _ok, you caught me._

"I was worried about you." She confessed. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. Stefan told me you were a little out of it."

Part of him was happy she was here. That she cared enough to check up on him. "Now you've seen. Satisfied?" He held out his arms as if to say he wasn't hiding anything. "No cuts on my wrists, I haven't killed anybody…"_ 'Well, okay, she was clinically dead for a minute, but whose gonna count that?' _"Your worst fears have not come true. The world is still turning."

"You know you can talk to me." She said, somehow with vehemence and uncertainty at the same time. Damon felt a sudden stab of guilt. He knew that she was putting herself out there for him, believing that he would mock her for her concern. He could deal with strong, snippy, angry Elena. But not make him feel guilty Elena.

He bit his lip and sighed halfway in annoyance, halfway in defeat. "Sit down." He gestured to the sofa. He sat across from her. There was silence for a moment "Have you read that book?"

"I don't know German."

"They have it in English too…" Damon rolled his eyes. High school kids these days… There was a pause. Resisting the urge to make literary parallels, he gathered his thoughts. Simple, concise. Here goes. "Okay, I'm upset about Rose, but I'll be fine."

Even saying that may have been too much by the way Elena's eye's lit up. You would think he'd just handed her the holy grail, instead of just giving her a cube from the tip of the iceberg. Still, he supposed for someone who doesn't open up _ever_… that little admittance was priceless. "Is there anything Stefan and I can do?"

Stefan and I. It was like a kick in the stomach. A little reminder of what he didn't have. _'I can't talk to you, Elena. Not the way you want me to. You're part of why I feel this way. It would be unfair to tell you.' _"I have something I need to do." He said abruptly and purposefully walked away.

"Damon!" She tried to grab for him, but with a whoosh he was gone.

* * *

His angst had melted away, replaced by anger and desire for revenge. Might as well channel all this negative energy to good use lest any innocent girls get swept up in his path again. He hadn't forgotten that there was a score to settle.

That slut Jules was going to die tonight.

Still, he wasn't stupid. She was dangerous even in her human form. He'd need some help. He pondered over his options. Stefan would help, but would also tell Elena, putting her unnecessarily in harms way. He shook his head. Sometimes he questioned his brother's judgment.

Caroline- young, but a surprisingly quick learner in spite of her… human origin. Still, he could smell wolf all over her and knew she was sympathetic to Tyler's plight. She had been antsy enough over the last 'euthanasia.'

Jeremy and his magic ring? Elena would kill him.

He briefly considered throwing John Gilbert 'to the wolves' as cannon fodder. The thought put a little smile on his face.

Sheriff Forbes and her merry men? Last time she'd gotten involved with him and wolves, she'd ended up in a cell for three days and he really didn't feel like scrambling the poor woman's brains anymore than they already were.

Which left his favorite. He smiled at the thought of it. Dear old 'Ric…

He was feeling better already.


	4. Planning and Juniper

**A/N: Thanks to Rebecamontiel and Remouse for the reviews! I am posting these chapters as I write them, so any encouragement helps. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!**

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Alaric's relationship with Damon was... _odd _to say the least. What other word could you use to describe working with the man who killed your wife?

'Ric had been tempted to hang up on the damned irritating vampire several times throughout the conversation, but the story was an interesting one. The new werewolf in town had set her sights on his _favorite _vampires. Note the heavy sarcasm. Still, he had seen the news report of yet another animal attack and for once it didn't stink of vampire. She was a supernatural killer and needed to be put down. That is what he came to Mystic Falls for, right?

They agreed to meet at the high school parking lot. It was a Saturday evening so it was unlikely they would be interrupted. Damon didn't want to meet at the Boarding house because then Stefan would be there and Alaric... well, he didn't even want Damon to know what street he lived on.

"Do you even know how to kill a werewolf?" Alaric asked, looking seriously at Damon.

"Ripping their hearts out with your bare hands seems to be an effective method." He responded cheekily. "You just need to dart her."

"Need to find her first."

"That'll be the fun part, but between me and your..." He gestured vaguely at the device Alaric held in his hands. "...crazy contraption, we should be fine."

Alaric sighed. "So this is happening?"

Damon nodded. "This is happening."

Nothing put Damon in better spirits than an impending hunt, but one member of the party was still missing. Damon saved him for last as he imagined he would be a little less than willing on this expedition.

To lure a wolf, one always needs some bait.

* * *

It was already dark out when Jessica got home, toting her work bag tiredly. Her clothes were thoroughly covered with pureed carrots and turkey. Mrs. Hanson liked to start food fights. How an 80 year old woman with Alzheimer's could be so damn quick, she didn't know. Jessica was usually on top of things and prevented these sort of incidents, but the prior evening had left her exhausted and she didn't move the plate out of arm's reach in time.

The lack of sleep wasn't the issue... any college student could probably tell you that there are days, even weeks when sleep is optional. It was the nightmares that had been bothering her all day. Her clothing had suffered the consequences.

She looked down at her outfit and sighed. Clothes won't wash themselves.

She stepped into the bathroom and carefully peeled off her shirt, trying not to get any more goo on her skin. She frowned as she looked in the mirror. _'I look too thin. When did I get so thin?' _

Feeling somewhat perturbed, she shed her pants and underwear and threw the lot into her pink laundry hamper before stepping into the shower. She ran her hands through her hair and grumbled in annoyance. Some of the gravy from Mrs. Hanson's turkey had landed in her hair and dried there, flaking away in brown specks.

She frowned and paused. This felt strangely familiar and she was getting the creepiest sense of déjà vu. Stepping back out of the shower, her eyes fell on the hamper. It had been empty when she put her clothes in. What happened to the clothes she'd worn yesterday?

_'I gave them away. I didn't like them anymore.' _came her mind's reply and she would have easily accepted the obvious answer had her higher thinking not rebelled. Her thoughts sounded eerily similar to her dream voice.

_'You gave them away.' _Her mind repeated. But who would she give away unwashed clothes to in the middle of the night?

_'You gave them away.' _Her mind insisted. This time the thought felt off, like they weren't her own... a foreign presence in her head. A shiver shot down her spine and goosebumps erupted on her arms and legs.

What had really happened to the clothes? She checked the hamper again and then ran to her room, tearing into her dresser. Nothing.

"_Bury them where no one will look." _The dream voice had told her.

Throwing on a t-shirt and a pair of now loose-fitting jeans, she thought about the question of where she would bury something. She rented this house from the Williams, an elderly couple who kept it as a summer home. They had the place stocked with furniture, appliances, and tools. There was a shed out back that housed a lawn mower, rakes, and a shovel, but it had a rather formidable padlock on it. She wouldn't have been able to get in.

Right?

Feeling more than a little demented, she grabbed a flashlight and tested it. The batteries must have been dying as it flickered dull light, but it would have to do. Walking out slowly to the shed she kept repeating to herself: _'Every thing's fine. I'll get there and see that every thing's the way it should be and I'll know that I'm just being paranoid.' _

She froze as soon as it came in sight. The old wooden structure was a dull green with the paint flecking off revealing the cool brick red color it had been in a previous lifetime. It had rusted metal hinges and a roof banged up by a tree that had fallen on it years ago. It was just as she remembered it... except the padlock was gone.

Forcing herself to step forward, she reached a shaking hand out to the rusty handle and slid the door open. Swallowing, she pointed the flashlight into the dark.

Through the dim light, she could see the spade shovel propped innocently against the lawnmower. As she stepped closer she noticed the still moist earth clinging to the blade. It had been used recently. Sweat suddenly covered her body.

The smell of machines reached her nose, the scent of gasoline and oil was strong even in the dry winter months. It triggered an olfactory memory and a word popped into her head.

_'Juniper.'_

In dawning horror, she turned to the other side of the yard where a makeshift headstone sat. It was a wooden cross with the name Juniper written across it.

Juniper had been the Williams' pet husky. She'd passed away just the summer before Jessica had moved in, put to sleep after severe hip dysplasia and arthritis had taken their toll on her. Juniper had been one of the topics of conversation when Jessica had come to see the house for the first time. Mrs. Williams loved that dog and wanted to let Jessica know that she could plant in the garden if she wanted, but to avoid Juniper's resting place.

Buried where no one will look.

Jessica was going to be sick. She leaned over and retched. Part of her had had enough and wanted to go inside and forget that any of this ever happened. She didn't want to go digging in Juniper's grave. She hated blood, how would she react to a partially decomposed dog?

But she had to know.

Inching her way to the other side of the yard, her mind raced to find excuses not to dig in that grave. What would the Williams say if they found out? What if she hit the dog's body?

What if her clothes were really buried there? That seemed to be the most compelling argument.

As she got in range, she lifted the flickering flashlight to point it at the earth. The ground had been disturbed.

She dug half-heartedly at first, making shallow passes. Her shovel easily pierced the already plowed earth.

It wasn't far before she recognized the top that came flying out with the last scoop. Her tights were right below. Even her socks were in the hole.

She examined the top more closely. Even with only a flickering flashlight, she knew dried blood when she saw it. The top was covered in it- no _saturated_. This was more than a human could bleed out and live to tell about, she was sure.

Dropping the clothes back into the hole, she frantically covered them back up. What the hell had she done last night? Did she hurt someone? She must have hurt someone- why else would she be hiding evidence? Should she call the cops and turn herself in? For what?

Throwing the shovel into the bushes, she bolted for the house. She didn't stop until she was locked inside the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror, panting.

She was losing it.

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**A/N: **Poor Jessica! I hope she can take the mental abuse I'm putting her through...


	5. Werewolf's Bait

**A/N: Thanks to 1945, Girl96xoxo, and Justine for your kind words. Here is the latest installment, written this morning for your reading pleasure. Hope you're enjoying the quick updates, I'm in the middle of the blizzard in the midwest right now and there's not much to do besides write.**

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Caroline sat on the sofa in her home, looking at the ground. She couldn't say it- couldn't bring herself to say anything. Tyler looked down at her expectedly. Hurt shone in his eyes, but his face was taut and stoic.

"Why didn't you tell me there were others?" He asked softly, but dangerously.

"It wasn't my secret to tell... they didn't want you to know about them." She tried rationalizing it, but she felt like she was suffocating.

"So they know about me, huh?" He replied accusingly.

She nodded, "They knew before you even triggered it. They didn't even want me to talk to you." Her voice caught with emotion. He faltered for a moment.

He hated seeing girls cry. Right now, though, he felt betrayed and pissed as hell. That anger pushed past his desire to comfort her. "So why did you?"

"I saw how scared you were... and I... I couldn't have gotten through it when I turned without my friends." She admitted, daring to look up at him. Pleading with him to forgive her.

He nodded, seemingly in understanding. "Your friends, huh? These the same friends that killed Mason?"

Her heart dropped like a stone down a well.

She didn't make any move to refute the accusation and that was proof enough to Tyler. "I never want to see you again." He said coldly.

He left the Forbes residence with haste, walking several blocks to clear his head. The maelstrom of emotions warred in his mind. One moment he was devastated, the next, he was enraged.

Something odd and familiar caught his now enhanced nose. It smelled like Caroline. He became irritated at first, thinking she'd followed him. Then he caught onto the subtleties of the scent like a connoisseur picks up the subtleties in a glass of fine wine.

Is this what vampire smelled like?

He didn't get to think much longer as a pain hit him. He cried out and grabbed for his butt, pulling out a dart. He looked in the direction of the shooting, squinting in confusion. "Mr. Saltzman? Did you just... shoot me in the butt?"

He collapsed a moment later. Alaric and Damon cautiously approached him. Damon nudged the fallen heap with his shoe. "Well that worked well." Damon smiled.

"I just hope that Jules is that easy." Alaric lowered the gun and shouldered it.

"Probably not... you saw the way he paused. He smelled us, just didn't know what it meant."

"You mean he smelled you." He corrected, giving Damon a pointed look. Damon looked mock affronted.

"Bait acquired." Said Damon as he slung the unconscious werewolf over his shoulder. "Let's get him to the woods and give our friend a call."

"Damon... remember your promise. Tyler walks away after this is over." Alaric said seriously.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Fear not, my dear high school teacher, I am a vampire of my word."

* * *

There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Jessica? Are you home?"

Jessica swallowed a groan. Great. Her roommate, Leslie was home. She's gone for a week and suddenly shows up. Why tonight of all nights? "I'm just taking a shower, I'll be out in a minute."

"Alright, hon. I brought the rent check." She called back through the door.

Part of her was grateful that Leslie was there. Tonight was probably a bad time to be alone. She had only known her for a few weeks since the semester started, but they had gotten along magnificently. Leslie was a late 20-something going back to college to make a career change. She was quite tall with a model body. She had wavy dirty blond hair and blue eyes. She had needed a place to stay and Jessica's place was huge. She could use a cut in the rent, so she invited Leslie to live with her.

Benefits of having an older roommate: She was quiet, dependable for rent, and had more experience with the world... almost a motherly air about her. Still, Leslie liked to party and it was funny watching the younger guys flirt incessantly with her.

For a paranoid moment, she thought of the incriminating evidence buried in the back yard, but set it aside. Why would she even look there?

Jessica divested and rinsed herself briefly, taking time only to thoroughly clean the gravy out of her hair and the dirt from her hands. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that when she was done, she could act normal around her roommate.

After drying off and dressing, Jessica stepped downstairs to the kitchen where Leslie waited. Her roommate extended an envelope towards her. The rent check. Right.

_'Okay, just act normal. Act normal. Act normal.' _She forced a smile. "Right on time."

"Is something wrong, Jessica?" Leslie asked with concern.

Jessica deflated. So much for normal. "I just had a weird night."

Leslie nodded, "Do you want to talk about it?"

She thought of a partial truth, "That resident at the nursing home got me again." she replied, this time with a constrained laugh.

Leslie wasn't fooled and the arch of her perfectly sculpted brow let Jessica know that. "I won't pry if you don't want me to, but you better know that I'm here for you."

Ah, there was Leslie; fierce and protective. "I know, I'll be fine." _'Probably.'_

She-Wolf by Shakira abruptly filled the kitchen."Oh, sorry hon, I have to take this."

"Sure." Jessica waited awkwardly.

Leslie flipped the phone open. "I'm so glad you called. I've been worried about you."

She sure sounded glad to hear from this person.

"I see.. in the woods... Tonight...? No... no, I'll be there.." She hung up the phone and turned to Jessica, explaining, "Some of the students are planning a party tonight in the woods. We're invited."

Jessica could really use some stress relief at the moment. "Let me just get changed." She ran up the stairs and took up the challenge of combining warm and sexy.

* * *

Damon stood, watching the woods. Alaric hid in the leaves a short distance away. Poor Tyler was propped up against the tree, a gag stuffed in his mouth. He glared up at Damon, but the vampire had made sure that he was thoroughly secured.

He faced east as he heard a twig snap. His ears picked up shaky footsteps. Too clumsy for the seasoned werewolf, unless it was deliberate. He growled in irritation, having no desire to deal with witnesses tonight.

Jules appeared a moment later. It had been her. Alaric made the preemptive strike, shooting from the leaves. The werewolf dodged easily, leaping high in the air and ricocheting herself off the trunk of a tree. "I came to make a deal." She snarled, backing away.

Damon held his ground. "I told you _exactly_ what would happen if Rose died."

Jules rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, I must admit that was rather pathetic and desperate on your part."

Damon growled in response. Jules held out a placating hand.

"You will give the Lockwood boy to me... and I will return Jessica to you."

"What are you talking about?" Damon's brow furrowed.

Seeing his confused look, she went back to the spot of Alaric's initial attack and grabbed the slender girl that had fallen when she had dodged the dart. Damon blinked, he hadn't heard Jules' footsteps- he'd heard Jessica's. Jules hauled the bound and terrified girl to her feet with ease, holding her in front as a shield. "If you don't return Tyler to me now, I will kill her."

* * *

**A/N: Whew... finally got some action going. Will Damon save Jessica? What will become of Tyler? ****Stay tuned! ****Remember to review if you enjoyed and in the pursuit of becoming a better writer, I do accept constructive criticism. **


	6. From Dream to Vision

**A/N: Thanks to prettydeadgirl, Titanica, EtherealDemon, and Edrose for their kind reviews. If you have the time and enjoy the story, please let me know what you think!**

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_'I must be losing it.'_ was Jessica's first thought as her eyes widened in recognition of her dream killer. One minute she and Leslie had been walking in the woods, the next Leslie whacked her over the head. Jessica had fallen into the leaves and needles, trying to fight back, but her blows were completely ineffectual. She felt like a child when it came to the ease with which she had been restrained and bound. One thing was for certain, she was going to get background checks on her roommates from now on.

If she survived the night.

Damon couldn't believe the bad luck this girl had. Two nights in a row she gets a run in with supernatural creatures that want to kill her. He gave Jules a look of practiced indifference, perfected over many years. "I usually don't catch the name of my dinner." He said, sending a distasteful look to Jessica that chilled her to the bone.

Jules faltered a moment, fearing she misjudged the situation and walked up to the table without an ace up her sleeve, but the thought only lasted a moment.

Then she laughed… it was a horrible sound. "Please, I can smell your blood all over her… inside of her. Your essence courses through her veins." That made sense now to Damon. She had smelled Jessica out because he had used his blood to save her. She turned to the Alaric. "What about you? Will you let her die for Damon's petty revenge?"

Alaric looked anything but indifferent. His brow was furrowed and his lips tight. He lowered his… whatever that thing was- to the ground and put his hands out in front of him. Damon rolled his eyes. 'Figures.'

Damon made to advance on Jules but she tightened her grasp on Jessica. Damon froze as Jules waggled a finger at him, "Ah, ah, ah… one more step and I might get nervous. You know how these humans are such fragile things... I could probably kill her if I squeezed too hard. You don't want her to have an accident, now do you?"

_'Who cares if the girl dies? I was going to kill her anyway.' _He thought, but was startled to discover that he in fact did not want her to die. She represented something to him… something he had almost lost.

_"I need a hero, a hero needs a damsel in distress."_

"You must know that if you kill her, you just add to our ranks." Damon tried a different tactic. Jules was not impressed.

"Oh? You think she'll still turn if I take her head off?" Jules asked with feigned innocence, giving Jessica's neck an experimental twist. Jessica screamed from beneath the gag.

"Tyler would die before her body hits the ground." Damon replied instantly. A mistake, he realized.

"Oh… so you do care about what happens to this girl?" Jules nodded as if she had it all figured out.

"How much is his life worth, Jules? The life of a young wolf? Your kind is thinning nowadays, are they not?" Jules bristled.

"Yes… another reason you shouldn't have killed Mason. Your precious Rose would still be alive." She snarled. Tyler's head shot up and darted between Damon and Jules. So this was Mason's killer? He shot a look at the back of Damon's head that promised future pain.

"Mason made his bed." Damon replied coldly. "Rose didn't have anything to do with it."

"My heart bleeds… that poor, innocent vampire."

"Are we doing this or not?" Damon asked impatiently. "I'm tired of you talking at me. Send Jessica over and you can have your pup back."

Jules scoffed. "I do that and you'll kill me where I stand. Send Tyler over first we'll be on our way."

Damon paused; all eyes were on him. Did he choose to trust Jules to keep her word? The tension mounted as seconds ticked by. Then he nodded to Alaric. "Get him up but keep him bound."

The English teacher cautiously walked up to the teen and gently helped him to his feet. "It's nothing personal." Alaric said with sincerity as he steadied him. Tyler just glared in response.

Because of the bindings around his feet, Tyler's trek to where Jules stood seemed to take forever. "Alright, send her over." Damon said as he reached the halfway point.

Jules looked down at Jessica. "Go back to your people, Vampire's whore." She said coldly, and pushed Jessica in front of her. She stumbled but managed to keep her balance. She walked slowly, not entirely convinced that where she was going was any better than where she'd come from. She couldn't even begin to make sense of what just happened.

Tyler reached Jules and she hastily untied him. "We go now." She said urgently. "Follow me." The two took off into the woods before the vampire could change his mind.

As soon as they were out of range, Damon let out a sigh and held his head in his hand in the universal sign for 'headache'. That had not gone according to plan. His revenge had been botched, Tyler had joined the dark side, and his little outburst from last night was standing three feet away looking very much like a distressed damsel.

Alaric took on the task of untying and comforting Jessica. Good, let him be the hero. She wouldn't believe it coming from him and he probably wouldn't mean it either. "It's going to be okay, you're safe now. Don't worry, we're gonna get you home."

Damon pinched the bridge of his nose. "She can't go home." He muttered. Alaric turned to him sharply.

"Why not?"

Damon looked at the English teacher as if he were stupid. "Were you even here? We send her home so Jules can grab her as a hostage again, or just kill her outright?"

Alaric faltered. He was right. "Why does she think Jessica is important? She said something about blood-"

Damon gave him a sharp look, his eyes darted to Jessica, who was staring at them. "Later."

Alaric followed, but instead of shutting up like Damon was hoping, he pulled the vampire aside. Damon bristled at being manhandled. Normally he would have killed the wannabe Van Hellsing for that, but he was feeling exhausted now. "Well what are we going to do with her?" He asked in a harsh whisper.

Damon looked at him tiredly. "Just go home 'Ric. I'll deal with this." he said, gesturing to the girl. Alaric pinned him with a hard look. "Oh come on… I didn't just let Jules get away so I could grab a snack. She'll be fine. Go home."

Alaric finally relented and left.

Finally alone, Damon turned to Jessica. He felt a strange mix of emotion when he looked at her. What was it about her that was so important to him? She was still standing there, still staring out in wide eyed terror like any other human would be. She was pretty, but not beautiful. Why was he willing to give up Jules to save her?

He approached her carefully. She recoiled backwards. He could compel her, but he decided to try reasoning with her first.

"Jessica? I'm going to take you to a safe place. You can't go home yet." He began, wincing as he realized that he didn't sound sincere in the least. She said nothing. "Jessica? Come on." No words or movement. Damon made a grab for her hand in impatience. She withdrew it violently. "Okay… You've gone through a lot tonight and we got off on the wrong start. My name is-"

"I know exactly who you are." She spat out, "You're the one who killed me."

* * *

**A/N: Dun Dun Dun! What will happen now that Damon and Jessica have run into each other again? Please Review if you enjoyed :)**


	7. A Safe Place

**A/N: Thanks to Edrose and Girl96xoxo for their reviews. This chapter is a bit longer, please read and enjoy!**

* * *

The woods were silent around them and the moon was still big in the sky, casting an eerie glow throughout the forest. He could see her breath coming out in short gasps as she waited for him to confirm or deny her accusation.

Damon bit his lip- the only external sign that he was completely astonished, but he hadn't been around for as long as he had because he was slow. "That doesn't make any sense. If I killed you, how are you here?" He pointed out. Her eyebrows furrowed as she realized he was right. Damon felt relieved, but didn't show it on his face. He didn't know how she remembered, but he'd have to set his curiosity aside for now. "I need to get you inside. You're in shock and I need to get you someplace warm."

She looked at him strangely, then shook her head, dazed and confused.

Internally, Damon was more confused than she was. What had caused his compulsion to fail? He drank human blood, the girl wasn't on vervain- he would have tasted it. He had compelled her… She would _have_ to believe it was a dream… unless…

"You haven't had anything weird happen the past day? Hot flashes, night sweats? Sensitivity to light and sound?" He listed off the classic symptoms of turning.

"Weird…? I found a pile of bloody clothes buried in the grave of my landlord's dog and my roommate tried to kill me." She pointed out, shivering. "And this…and you. I thought it was a dream. Maybe it was my body's way of coping with the trauma, maybe it was something you did." She continued, sounding more and more delirious as she rambled on. "At first I thought that I had hurt somebody, but that's not what happened in the dream. You were there. I begged for my life and you killed me."

She stopped, waiting for him to say something, and got anxious as the silence drew out. His sigh sent a billow of visible air out and he looked her into her eyes, trying to convey sincerity.

"I'm taking you to a safe place." He repeated his earlier assurance. This time he sounded more sincere. He inclined his head, and in a lucid moment, she looked directly at him and nodded her consent. Ever so slowly, he reached out to her. His hands felt warm, soft, _human_. He placed her hands around his shoulders and carefully lifted her.

Maybe the contact was too much, maybe her mind was too strained, or maybe she was just exhausted, either way she passed out limply in his arms.

* * *

Tyler rubbed his wrists, still raw from struggling, as he sat down unquestioningly in Jules' car. He had barely said a word and was staring at nothing, obviously deep in thought. She looked at him with concern, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine." He wasn't fine. His mind was going a million miles an hour and it wasn't going to stop until it crashed. He had met Mason's murderer: Damon Salvatore. He'd been under his nose all this time. Damon didn't seem like much, Tyler had dismissed him as some womanizer related to his classmate.

But he'd killed Mason, restrained and carried Tyler with ease. Jules was afraid of him, why else would they have high tailed it out of there like that?

"I'm going to take you to my place… it's best we lay low for a while." Jules said. Tyler nodded numbly in agreement. "I'm sorry that your friend isn't who you thought she was. They may have sent her undercover to get you on their side."

She sounded sincere. "Why did they kill Mason?" Tyler asked.

"I don't know. Could be something small. Vampires and werewolves don't get along as a rule… They don't like that we present a threat to them and we're easy enough targets when the moon's not full."

They rode in silence after that. Tyler wasn't the brightest candle on the birthday cake, but he knew when things didn't add up.

Caroline… What about her? She had known about Mason, that much was clear, but he couldn't see where her involvement began and ended. Had she been present? Did she help? Why had they killed him?

If vampires felt threatened by them, why would a vampire befriend him, even if it were farce? Why stick with him through the night of the full moon, when she could have been killed?

One thing was for sure… he'd known Caroline Forbes all his life and she was a _terrible _liar.

* * *

Damon sat in his room, staring at the ceiling.

Maybe she was some sort of supe that he wasn't familiar with? Maybe someone had told her what had happened?

'_Maybe you're just losing it, Damon. Admit it. The weak, the new, the animal drinkers, they can't compel.'_

The sound of the door opening roused him from his thoughts. He pursed his lips in annoyance. "I'm going to have to fix the lock on that door." He said.

Stefan shook his head. "Well I would have to break in anyway to ask you if you know anything about a girl, 20-something, reddish blonde? She's been compelled to stay sitting on our sofa? When asked what her name is, replies 'Stay the Hell away from me'?"

"Don't know what you're talking about." Damon replied flippantly, picking up the nearest book, _Gone With the Wind, _and pretending to read it. Not knowing what else to do, he'd left her with a happy meal and listened in from upstairs. She had been crying. He hated it when women cried.

"Oh, is that right? You see, that's funny because she's full of vampire blood. Smells like yours." Stefan looked at him pointedly. "Now why don't you tell me what you did so I can fix it."

"She was dying, I saved her life. Seems pretty simple to me." Not the whole truth, but something. Stefan's eyebrows lifted. "You know, I always thought your forehead was too heavy to even make that expression."

Stefan got over his surprise and his face went to skeptical. "Is this better?" He asked.

"Much." Damon said dismissively, as if they were done talking. Stefan didn't move. "What? I can't do good things? You know, you don't own the copyright on 'nice vampire' … I think that's _Buffy._"

"If that were the case, you would have compelled her and sent her on her way. You haven't, so what's the rest of the story?" Stefan crossed his arms.

Damon scoffed and pulled out another half truth. "Jules smelled my blood in her and assumed she was with us. See? saved her life again." Damon replied.

"I see." He said, those two words dripping with doubt. "You know you can't just leave her down there, right? You have to talk to her, tell her why she's here."

"I'll get around to it." Damon turned a page only to have the book snatched from his hands.

"Now, Damon."

* * *

Jessica sat on the couch, looking around the room. She was not sitting there by choice… she literally couldn't stand up. She had had time to memorize the bookshelves and layout of the room as well as come up with all sorts of nefarious reasons as to why she'd been brought here.

She looked over to the chair next to her to find her killer sitting there, calmly watching her. She immediately shot up and scrambled to the other side of the sofa she was on, not daring to take her eyes off him.

"W-what do you want?" She asked. "Where am I?"

"You're at my home. Remember, I told you I was going to take you someplace safe? This is a safe place. Do you remember the woman that kidnapped you?" Damon asked calmly, softly. Jessica nodded, reacting to his calm, she knew that it was a simple psychological trick, staying calm in crisis helped calm those around you, but she clung to it like a lifeline. If she didn't she knew she'd probably snap. She let herself relax by millimeters.

"Yeah, she's my roommate." She said softly. Damon almost laughed. This poor girl had the worst luck. Jessica knew he was trying to trigger her rational mind to review prior events that she had compartmentalized so as not to overload her brain. She remembered her roommates strength now- inhuman. The way she had leapt higher than any basketball player… "How did she…?"

"She's not human, Jessica." Jessica processed this. He hoped she'd understand, or he'd have to compel her to forget everything, and he didn't want to do that just yet. There was an answer somewhere inside of her as to why his compulsion failed. _'And if it failed again…' _Well that would confirm that there was something wrong with him.

Jessica frowned and opened up another compartment. Remembering words and the saddest eyes. _"Because I'm not human, Jessica…" _

"You're not human either, are you?" She asked, eyes widening. "What are you?"

He sat back, looking at her gravely. "You already know the answer to that question, don't you?" He asked.

She closed her eyes and shook her head. She knew, but she couldn't say it out loud. It defied everything she had come to understand as reality.

"Tell me what I am, Jessica." He commanded.

"You're a vampire… But it's not possible." It was like the floor had given out under her. She looked at him fearfully, but he also saw the spark of curiosity in her eyes. She wondered how old he was, where he was from. "How can this be?"

"Hell if I know." Damon shrugged. "But you understand why you have to stay here?"

She looked upset, but nodded. Still, something nagged at her mind. She almost didn't want to ask, afraid of the answer. "The dream… was it real?"

He looked away and nodded. "I'd appreciate if you kept that to yourself."

'_He's ashamed…' _She realized. Part of her was angry, part afraid, but really she was just exhausted with information overload. She vaguely remembered his words, his inner conflict. "The things you said on the road?"

"Keep that to yourself too." He looked uncomfortable.

"How am I alive then?" Jessica asked the other question that was bothering her.

"I fed you my blood… it healed you." He said simply. "Then I compelled you to believe it had been a dream."

She tried to get her mind around that. That it hadn't been a dream. It was difficult. "Can you compel me to remember?" She asked.

Damon nodded, "Yes, but you don't want me to do that. Not yet, anyway." It made sense, she realized. If she were to suddenly remember such a traumatic event, it would probably send her over the deep end.

"So… what happens now?" She asked. He stood and walked over to her, reaching out to cup her cheek and capture her eyes. She tried to calm her sympathetic nervous system, the epinephrine sending her body into fight or flight mode.

"I'm going to release you from the compulsion that keeps you on the sofa, alright?" She nodded in agreement. "You can move freely." He said. It was like the word of God… one moment she had been trapped, the next she owned her own body again.

He stood back, breaking eye contact.

"You'll be here a while.. Until we figure out what to do about Jules. Either myself or my brother will be with you at all times. Feel free to explore the house."

Jessica cautiously stood. Amazing, it was some sort of advanced hypnotism. "Wait… Can I at least know your name?"

"Damon." He replied. "Oh, and Jessica, please don't try to leave. I'll know about it." He said, tapping his ear.

'_Creepy.'_

_

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_**A/N: Thanks for reading****, and don't forget to feed the author a review if you want more.  
**


	8. Corrupting America's Youth

**AN: Sorry this took a while... After the blizzard my professors really buckled down and we had a lot to make up... This chapter has to do with Jessica settling into the Salvatore home. **

* * *

Jessica stepped through the vacant rooms upstairs. Damon had told her to pick one of the unoccupied ones to use as her own during her stay. She understood the ploy, he was giving her choices in an attempt to keep her content, give her the illusion of control. Sometimes she hated her training for finding the manipulation in everyday situations.

Though she suspected that it had saved her life last night.

She played along, spending time inspecting each room, the size, the state of its furniture, the direction of the windows, and the art each held. It kept her occupied, helping to keep away more… troublesome thoughts.

She didn't really want to stay here; but she figured that to choose between her house, which her werewolf roommate who wanted to kill her had the key to and the home of two vampires that claimed they wanted to protect her…

She couldn't know that this was the better option, but she chose uncertainty over certainty of death.

Not wanting a room close to either brother, she chose the one equidistant between the two that suited her. There were a large number of locks on the inside of a solid oak door, which provided the illusion of security, much like her illusion of control. If vampire strength was as Damon described, however, there wasn't much she would be able to do to stop them.

The room also held a healthy collection of reading material, an east-facing window, and a queen sized bed, she noted as she went through her check list.

A knock at the open door startled her and she whipped her head around to see the other brother.

She had met Stefan earlier in the evening. He had unintentionally scared her while she was trapped on the couch. Since then, Damon had informed her that he was the goody two shoes of the family with a better-than-thou tortured attitude.

He smiled slightly. Just enough to convey friendliness as he waved, but it didn't really reach his eyes. "Jessica, right?"

"Yeah, Damon told me that your name was Stefan." She said, shifting uncomfortably. Being the goody two shoes in the family didn't mean much when the competition was an unstable homicidal maniac. Stefan was still a vampire, and Jessica was no disillusioned _Twilight_ fan. He didn't approach, merely leaned against the threshold, gauging her reaction.

"I brought you some clothes. They belong to my girlfriend but she says you can have them." He placed the pile of clean laundry on the floor by the door.

"Thank you and thank her for me." Jessica said sincerely. A pregnant pause followed. Stefan seemed to be trying to find the words to express something.

"This used to be my descendant's room." He finally said, looking at the floor. "His name was Zach. He didn't trust us much."

Jessica gestured to the locks on the door. "I can see that."

Stefan smiled ruefully.

"What happened to him?" Jessica asked.

"Damon… killed him." He sounded wistful, then locked eyes with her. "He's killed a lot of people. Some of them were my friends. He's unpredictable at best. I just- I hope you know that. You have to be careful with him."

Jessica nodded, in 24 hours she had found out all too well what Damon was capable of. She didn't respond. What could she say in reply to that?

As Stefan left, Jessica approached the door and collected the clothing. This whole vampire business was going to give her an ulcer. Setting the garments on the mahogany dresser, she sighed. Damon was right, Stefan seemed like a good guy.

Though Stefan hadn't had anything nice to say about Damon.

* * *

It had been a long day for Jessica. Waking up hours before the alarm clock, getting pummeled in the nursing home, thinking she'd gone crazy, getting kidnapped… twice.

She needed some sleep.

She locked each of the locks on her door, each time telling herself how safe she would be and each time knowing it was a lie. Changing into the simple set of white pajamas that Stefan had left her, she settled into bed.

She lay awake, watching the damned red letters of the digital clock in the dark. She scowled. Everything else in this god forsaken place was ancient, why did they have to have modern alarm clocks?

Flipping onto her other side, she felt vulnerable with her back to the door.

There had to be something that would help her sleep in this unfamiliar place. She had too many thoughts to process.

First of all, vampires were real. One had almost killed her, then decided to save her life on a whim. She was now living in said vampire's house because the blood she had drank (_ew!_) to save her life made her smell like said vampire and made said vampire's mortal enemy want to kill her. Oh and by the way, said vampire's mortal enemy was her roommate who could turn into a wolf on the full moon.

The thing that occupied her thoughts the most was a question: Why _didn't_ Damon kill her? What had made him change his mind and save her life instead? He hadn't wanted anything from her… he'd just let her go. She wouldn't even be here right now if it weren't for the wolf. She would have felt as though she'd gotten a new lease on life if the threat of death and dismemberment were not still looming ominously overhead.

She didn't know who to trust either. How could she trust someone she'd just met, that had tried to hurt her and wasn't even human? Her own roommate, Leslie (or whatever the hell her name was), someone who she'd liked and trusted had threatened to kill her.

Logically her brain understood that she hadn't been harmed or abused _'If you don't count last night…' _but trust was a difficult thing to just hand out.

Jessica knew she could be killed at anytime. Strange as it sounded, that fact was oddly comforting. Like when you're on a plane, placing your life entirely in someone else's hands. They may get you safely to your destination, they may crash. You just have to accept it and hope for the best.

On second thought, that wasn't too comforting.

'_At least I know I'm not going crazy.' _She thought, remembering how scared she'd been when she'd found the bloody top.

'_You gave those away.' _Her mind said, as if to refute her sanity. Jessica shivered.

She attempted to analyze her broken memory. _'It was a dream, forget about it.' _Her mind insisted again. It was scary when your own brain worked against you.

Closing her eyes, she tried again to delve into the dream. Her killer- Damon had been crying, there had been something about a girl. She remembered it, but didn't… every time she got too close, the memory slipped from her grasp. Bits and pieces filtered through; his blood-stained lips, his hands fluttering through her hair.

She shivered again, this time not from fear.

Jessica groaned, recognizing the symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome, but she wasn't going to even try to deny that the vampire was attractive. She was no virgin- as embarrassing as it was, she'd lost her v-card on the night of her high school prom to the fellow she'd thought she'd be spending the rest of her life with. Turned out they would break up less than two weeks later.

Two years of college had drastically changed her ideas about sex. It wasn't the perfect, romantic expression of undying love that she had thought in her naïve youth. It happened for all sorts of reasons: Lust, alcohol, boredom...

She was appalled at herself for thinking it. That didn't stop the wheels in her head from turning as she fell asleep imagining his river blue eyes looking at her with that frightening intensity.

* * *

Elena nuzzled against Stefan's naked chest, letting out a contented sigh, but she didn't fall asleep. Usually their lovemaking exhausted and sated her so that she would lose herself to the world of Hypnos immediately.

Stefan had his eyes closed, breathing steadily and evenly, but he wasn't asleep. He usually waited for Elena to drift off first. To her, he seemed asleep, as he used his ability to accurately imitate a sleeping man's breath and stillness.

She wasn't sleeping. In the silence he could even hear her blinking.

Twenty minutes later he spoke, "What's wrong?"

Elena groaned, having been caught not enjoying her post coital slumber. "I'm just surprised, that's all."

"About Damon?" Stefan guessed. He had been thinking about his brother as well, but it didn't stop the spark of jealousy he felt.

Elena nodded. "Last night I had a horrible feeling, like he was going to do something... Hurt someone. Who would have thought he would have channeled that into helping this girl instead?"

Stefan let his hand idle down her bare back, sending Elena pleasurable shivers. He did not say what he was actually thinking, that something about this whole situation was wrong.

"I think we're making progress… really getting through to him..." She said dreamily. Having expressed her thoughts, she readily drifted off to sleep.

Leaving Stefan to stare at the ceiling, wide awake.

* * *

Jessica awoke in sweat and darkness, her eyes darting about the room, disoriented before she remembered where she was. Her breath caught as she realized there was someone hovering over her. A dark silhouette, and it was holding her shoulder. She drew in a breath to scream, but another hand clamped onto her mouth and a calm voice reached her ears.

"I woke you up so you'd _stop_ screaming." The voice explained, withdrawing its appendage. She knew then that it was Damon, that voice had haunted her dreams. He sounded annoyed. "You were keeping me up."

"I was screaming?" She asked, still a bit muddled despite the mass quantities of adrenaline that had just been released into her system.

Damon nodded, remembered that she couldn't see in the dark, and flipped on the light at her bedside table. He watched as she blinked, bleary eyed and adjusted her pupils. Cute.

Jessica remembered Stefan's words about Damon being unpredictable. "I'm sorry I kept you up, I'll try to keep it quiet now." She swallowed.

Damon gave her an odd sideways look. He reminded her of the raptors in _Jurassic Park. _Cold, calculating, intelligent… about to gobble up a tasty morsel. "Since you're up, would you like to join me downstairs?"

She really didn't, but it sounded like an order.

Damon walked to the door, pointedly undoing all the locks as if to mock her for even bothering to use them in the first place.

Down the stairs he went, knowing that she followed. He was definitely not above toying with his food, even if he had no intention of eating this one.

Not all of her anyway.

Though her reactions were pricelessly amusing, he also felt a little disappointed. This girl that had defied compulsion and successfully gotten under his skin the other night to bargain for her life seemed to have nothing special about her. She did not stand up to him like Elena did, she was not as pretty as Elena, she did not bear the striking resemblance to Katherine-

Damon stopped himself before he could go further. Jessica was not like Elena because she _wasn't _Elena. He didn't know when he'd started comparing the two, but it bothered him now that he'd become conscious of it.

They stepped into the den where Damon gestured to the sofa he'd stuck her on earlier. She looked at it distastefully and continued to stand.

"What did you want to do down here?" She asked, finally finding her voice. It didn't even shake that much.

Damon threw back a smirk, effectively hiding his inner turmoil. "I don't know about you, but I'm parched!"

"W-what?" Jessica felt the blood drain out of her face. She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Relax." He said with a mischievous glint in his eye. He opened a crystal decanter full of amber liquid that sat on the ornate buffet. "That's not what I meant."

Jessica stumbled and glared, knowing full well that he'd done that on purpose. "Last time you drank you tried to kill me." She pointed out.

"Good thing this isn't last time." He replied, pouring his whiskey.

He poured a second glass and passed it to her. She took it reluctantly. "I'm only 20..." She pointed out.

That earned her a look. "Older than I thought you were… guess I'll only get arrested for providing alcohol to a minor."

Jessica didn't catch the meaning right away, but Damon could tell the moment she did, because she turned red as a beet.

"Go on." He encouraged as he threw his drink back, closing his eyes briefly and then snapping them open with a look of satisfaction. "Mmmmm."

She sniffed it and retched. "No thanks." She began to set the glass down, but Damon there in a moment to stop her. His surprisingly warm hand covered hers and she faltered as he caught her gaze. Their proximity was unbearable and she could feel her heart jumping in her chest.

"You're twenty and you almost died twice in the past day. You need to relax." He intoned softly, releasing her hand back into her own custody.

Jessica didn't believe for a minute that he was concerned with her wellbeing. Later she told herself that she'd done it to satisfy him, get him to back off. She imitated his motions, having never really drank before, and threw the whole glass back.

She dropped the crystal tumbler as her mouth set on fire. Damon caught the expensive glass before it met a gruesome fate on the floor and laughed at the expression of pain and nausea on the girl's face.

'_Ah yes, Damon Salvatore, corrupting America's youth since 1839' _He thought to himself with a self-satisfied air.

"Jesus…" She swallowed and gagged. "Why do people do this to themselves?"

Damon smiled. "Just wait a few minutes. Sit down. You haven't had anything to eat and if you're not normally a drinker then I bet you'll be feeling it real soon."

She actually did sit down. Damon sat beside her, leaving a little distance between the pair. She attempted to study her body's reaction.

"I don't feel anything…" She said. "What's it supposed to feel like?"

Damon gave her an odd look. "You've _really _never drank?"

Jessica shook her head. "Got too much studying to do to mess around with boys and booze." She paused, looking a bit addled. She didn't usually talk like that, did she? No… no, she did not. "Oh shit." She groaned.

"So you're a student. What's your major?" He asked, noting that she was already well on her way.

"Psych."

'_Figures…' _"So you're in college and you've never had alcohol?" He was clearly not buying it.

"Yes, how many times do I got to tell you?" She grumbled.

"I was just making sure, since you were lying about the boys." He explained. Jessica froze, understanding what he was getting at and then looked at him incredulously.

"Okay… first of all, that's creepy." She said, "Second, I never said I was a virgin. I just said I didn't have time for boys. I still have needs. And third… how the Hell do you know that?"

Damon just looked at her. It gave her chills.

"Okay… so this is like some kind of virgin blood thing, what, I don't taste as fresh?" She didn't know why she was getting offended. Shouldn't it be a good thing that she was less appetizing to the hair-trigger vampire?

"Virgin blood is less suited to me." Damon said. "Vampires crave it because it reminds them of what they lost- their innocence when they were turned. However… I wasn't the nicest guy even when I was alive. I like intelligent, sensual… but naïve." _'Like I was…'_ His eyes flicked to her. "So no, you were quite tasty."

Jessica swallowed and looked away.

Damon stood and poured two more glasses. "You might try sipping this one." He said, holding it out to her.

Jessica shook her head. "Uh-uh, one was enough."

"You feel better don't you?" He said, still holding the glass at arm's length out to her.

She paused in her thinking as he said that. She wasn't certain that the right word was 'better', but the weight of impending doom did feel a little lighter. "I feel… strange." She finally concluded and took the glass.

"Cheers. To feeling strange." He laughed as she downed the second drink.

Jessica was feeling fuzzy… and by fuzzy she meant out of control. She'd always stayed away from alcohol because of her mother's drinking problem. That woman would be knocking back vodka with her lunch. But Damon had a point, and she had discovered why they called it liquid courage. She was less and less concerned with the fact that Damon was a vampire.

"What do people usually do when they're drunk?" Jessica wondered out loud.

"Drunk-dial…" Damon began, putting up his fingers.

"Phone got lost in the woods…" Jessica lamented.

"Sing and dance…" He counted two.

"Not that drunk yet…"

"Sleep with people you barely know." Jessica started as Damon suddenly snaked and arm around her.

A crack rang out in the room. Jessica realized in horror that she had whipped her hand across his face. She had slapped the homicidal vampire.

She was instantly sober. The drunken happiness just fell away like a cardboard cutout. Damon seized her by the back of the neck, looking irritated. Jessica realized that she had crossed the line, whatever that line was and that she was in serious trouble now.

Damon watched her hyperventilate, but she didn't close her eyes, didn't try to struggle. "Hmph…" He said with the slightest twitch of his lips... a ghost of a smile "Maybe you have a backbone somewhere in there after all."

He released her and she instantly held her neck, as if he had actually hurt her. He gestured to her glass, smiling as if nothing had happened.

"Would you like another?"

* * *

**AN: Well there it is. Next chapter we will be getting back to Tyler, Jules, and Caroline. If you can't tell already, I am not following the series at this point. Stay tuned and remember Review::Author as You::Ian Somerhalder  
**


	9. Awkward House Arrest

**AN: Howdy all! It's been a little bit, eh? sorry about that, but classes keep me busy. Actually this next bit has been sitting on my hard drive for a while, but I wasn't certain what direction I was going so I delayed publishing it for a bit. I hope you enjoy and remember that if you want more the most clear way to let me know is with a review!**

**Without further ado...  
**

* * *

Jessica awoke feeling like she was going to die, wishing that she was dead. The previous evening was a mysterious blur. She groaned and sat up, surveying her surroundings. She was in her room- or what she guessed was her room in the Salvatore house. Someone had laid out a cup of water for her which she eagerly drank down. The red alarm clock read 2:30pm. She never slept in this late.

She laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about the previous night. Much like her memories that had been compelled away, she could only recall the fuzziest details. She felt around her neck, momentarily afraid that he'd bitten her, but she found no such marks. Of course he'd made them go away last time too by making her drink his blood.

She gagged. _ew._

She waited for her head to stop protesting quite so loudly then cautiously sat up. When her brain didn't explode, she swung herself out of bed, vowing never to drink again.

She tip toed to the door. All the locks were done from the inside again so either she had gotten herself to bed or Damon was mocking her again. She bet it was the latter.

Undoing the locks, she opened the door and cautiously stepped out, peeking over the railing into the den below.

The other brother- Stefan was sitting on the sofa. She knew he should sense her, but he didn't seem to be paying any attention. His lips were locked around the wrist of a girl that may well have been younger than her. She realized in horror that he was feeding on her.

Jessica couldn't peel her eyes away from the scene and just stood there, mouth agape as she heard him groan in pleasure, his sucking and swallowing sounds filling the space, his lips stained with this girl's blood as Jessica's blood had stained Damon's. He seemed… lost in the pleasure of it.

He wasn't the only one enjoying it by the looks of it. One look at the girl let Jessica know exactly how she was feeling along with her soft vocalizations.

It was the most disturbing, perverse, and erotic thing Jessica had ever seen. The blood somehow didn't bother her in this context.

She knew she should move, go back into her room before she got caught, but she just stood there staring.

"Aw… ugh, come on guys, get a room!" Came Damon's irritated voice, shattering the mood.

Stefan broke his hold and his companion had the good sense to look embarrassed, especially after noticing Jessica. That was nothing compared to the color of Jessica's cheeks. Stefan was watching her, trying to detect her reaction again. His tongue snaked out to lap up the remaining blood on his lips. His companion smiled at her uncomfortably.

"Hi, you must be Jessica. I'm Elena, Stefan's girlfriend." She said genuinely.

What a first impression…

* * *

Sheriff Liz Forbes stopped by her daughter's door. She wanted more than anything to be a good mother, but she didn't know how. Any attempts she made were instantly shot down with the crack of Caroline's whip-like tongue.

But love meant you never stopped trying. Nothing can kill the love a mother feels for her daughter.

So when Liz heard her daughter crying, instead of walking away, she knocked.

"Caroline? Is everything alright?" She called out hesitantly. The room inside went suddenly silent.

"I'm fine mom." Came Caroline's voice sounding steady and even. She didn't want her mother's attention, but she wasn't bitter. She recalled something Damon had said the first night her mom had been locked away in the cell under the Salvatore residence.

'_Compulsion will make some things go away. She won't remember that you're a vampire… but if you can't resolve the confusion and hatred she feels for you right now, then that will carry over, no matter how many times I compel her. Same with you… if you don't forgive her for her ignorance, you'll have to carry it with you… all the time wearing a façade.'_

Caroline was grateful for Damon for saving her. She knew that her mother hadn't understood that last evening- not really. But she'd gotten the important part. Vampire or human, her daughter loved her… no matter what.

Liz swallowed and pieced her words together. "I was about to make dinner… would you like to help me cook?"

Caroline cocked an eyebrow at that, thankful that her mom couldn't see her incredulity through the door.

"I know I haven't made a homemade meal for us lately… but I remember we used to have fun cooking together when you were younger." Liz felt suddenly as though she had gone out on a limb, feeling vulnerable.

Finally Caroline opened the door, smiling brightly. "Sure mom, that'd be great."

* * *

Damon had led Jessica back into her room while Stefan and Elena composed themselves. Jessica sat on the edge of the bed as Damon shut the door. Had she not been so absorbed in what she'd just witnessed, she may have registered the look of pain that touched Damon's face before disappearing into a façade of indifference.

"She liked it." Jessica finally said.

Damon quirked a brow. "You sound surprised."

She gave him a troubled look. When she finally spoke, her voice shook slightly. "From what I can piece together from my dre- my memory, I don't think I enjoyed it." She shook her head, as if to clear it. "I know what happened on some level… but it's not the same as having a memory."

"You were terrified, fighting, almost dying. Of course you didn't enjoy it." Damon said as he approached her. "Whereas Elena is willing, trusting… and in love. One could argue that making love is the same action as rape… but they are about as close as feeding on the willing versus the unwilling."

"That's why you won't give me back my memories." She deduced. He was right beside her now, looking down at her. It was strange to her… knowing that she'd utterly hate this man if only she could clearly remember what he'd done. As it stood, she was afraid of him, but not hateful. If anything, she was intrigued by him.

Damon nodded in response to her deduction, equally intrigued by her, but for a different reason. He was interested in her interpretation of Friday night, having been compelled to forget it.

"Why do you even care what I should think of you?" She asked. "You don't seem to think much of me…" She trailed off. _Why should I care what he thinks of me?_

"You're the psychology major… why don't you tell me?"

She bristled a bit, looking up at his intense eyes as they had a silent standoff. She didn't know where to start, didn't want to make any assumptions about his feelings, so she just looked at the floor quietly

"She loves him… the idea seems flawed." Jessica finally mused.

"How pessimistic."

"I don't mean in general." She replied. "Unless Elena intends to become a vampire herself, then this relationship doesn't make any sense. The age difference alone…"

"Stefan told you how old we are?" Damon interrupted curiously.

Jessica shook her head. "I just figured… he mentioned your descendant. The one whose room this is…" She said, carefully studying him for a reaction only to be met with a blank face. "Well… if it had been his child, grandchild, nephew, et cetera, he'd probably use the title, but he used the word 'descendant' indicating some significant span of time… also I imagine they probably weren't that close since he didn't kill you over him."

Damon laughed. It was not a pleasant sound. "You may be too smart for your own good, Jessica." He purred. "What makes you think Stefan even _can _kill me?"

Jessica shrugged. "He may be weaker than you because of his diet, but you live under the same roof. It would only be a matter of catching you off guard."

Damon gave her an odd look. "You share a roof with me as well… perhaps that is why I care what you think of me. If you don't trust me… I can't trust you."

Once again, Jessica thought better than to say anything. Though his logic was sound, she didn't believe that that was the reason, at least not all of it.

"Come on." He finally said.

She looked up, confused. "Where?"

"Downstairs. You should hear the things Stefan and Elena are saying about you."

* * *

Tyler awoke beside the older werewolf, blushing as he realized she was naked. He turned away as she stirred, afraid of being caught staring at her slender yet powerful frame.

They had arrived here late the previous night, having driven at least an hour out of Mystic Falls. Jules hadn't properly explained where they were, but after being drugged and kidnapped, anywhere away from the vampires sounded like a good idea.

The place was basically a one room bunker with a mattress and a fridge. They had opted to share the bed last night, but he didn't remember her slipping out of her clothes at any point in time.

"Good morning, Tyler." She said pleasantly, sounding neither sultry nor seductive. Tyler stared determinedly at the far wall.

"Good morning, Jules." He said and then, unable to help himself, "I didn't realize you uh… slept naked."

Jules paused for an uncomfortable moment before laughing wholeheartedly. "I forget how it is with you baby wolves sometimes. After waking up in the nude in various obscure or public places, you get used to it. It is the most comfortable and natural way to be, after all."

_Great… a werewolf nudist. _"If you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you put on some clothes." He tried not to sound snappish, and she didn't seem to take it as such.

Her musical laugh filled the small space and he heard a flap of cloth. "All done." Cautiously turning, he saw she had donned a bathrobe.

_Better than nothing…_ "You seem in good spirits." He pointed out as he stood. "Given we are being hunted."

She shook her head, smiling. "You have to live in the moment, Tyler. The vampires don't know where we are. We got out of last night alive when it very easily could have gone south. It brought me to you. Now I can help prepare you for what it means to be a lycanthrope."

"Changing with every full moon doesn't seem like a very cool club to be in."

"It gets easier with time, young one."

"Where do we go during the full moon?"

Jules looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"I went to my Uncle's old spot, the old Lockwood manor… they have chains there. We need something like that… and wolf's bane to control…"

"Was that your vampire _friend's _method of _controlling _you?" Jules sneered. "You would poison yourself and lock yourself away the evening when you are most powerful?"

Tyler paused, unsure as to what she meant. He had been completely out of control that night. He could have hurt someone. Why wouldn't he be chained up? "Is that what you do? Hurt innocent people?" He growled.

"I am not weak… I will not make myself vulnerable. Why do you think Mason died?" She asked.

Tyler faltered at that. She knew then that she had him.

"Let me put it this way: If you want to kill Damon Salvatore, it must be on the full moon. If you lock yourself away with poison… he will kill you."

* * *

"Sorry about earlier." Elena said for the 15th time. Jessica wished she'd just stop bringing it up… every time she did, Jessica got an instant replay of the incident in her head.

"It's alright." Jessica smiled. Elena had insisted that the boys make themselves scarce so they could have some girl time. Stefan went along with it… so did Damon after giving Jessica a rather significant Don't-tell-her-anything-or-I'll-kill-you look.

Elena didn't seem to notice and turned on the sound system in the den to the radio. "It drowns their hearing." She explained at Jessica's questioning look. "I know this must all be a bit strange to you."

"Understatement of the year." Jessica said, still unsure about this girl.

"I'm glad that Damon saved you though." Elena said. Something unhinged in Jessica internally, but on the outside, she appeared composed.

_Oh, is that what he told you? _She supposed it was true on one level. She didn't like to lie, so she settled on "I'm glad to be alive."

"He can be dangerous sometimes though." Elena said. "Not to scare you or anything. I'm glad he channeled it to something good. How did you meet anyway?"

Jessica cringed. It was like getting interrogated with a mob boss looking over your shoulder. Thankfully Elena took the look a different way.

"I'm sorry, I guess a near death experience would be painful to remember, so I won't pry."

"Actually Damon compelled me after it happened. So I only have the vaguest outline."

Elena looked alarm, but then nodded. "It makes sense. If you woke up suddenly healed, it would probably mess with you, unless you didn't remember being hurt in the first place."

"Let's talk about something else. You and Stefan… what's it like to date a vampire?"

Elena nodded with a smile. "It's… different. I'll give you that much. But I trust him… and I love him."

_I haven't felt like that since senior prom. _Jessica thought. _and look how that turned out. _Still, if Elena and Stefan broke up- really broke up, then she imagined that more than just Elena's heart would be broken. She found it somewhat naïve, but she really wasn't one to pass judgment. After all, Stefan seemed like a real stand up guy... for a vampire.

Damon, on the other hand… "You and Damon had fun last night, huh?" Elena asked, catching Jessica off guard.

"Excuse me?"

"I meant the drinking. Stefan said you two were up until dawn."

"I'm never drinking again."

Elena laughed. "I drank with Damon once… it was interesting. Fun."

"Did you want to die the following morning?"

Elena furrowed her brow. "No, but I did get kidnapped by an angry vampire."

Jessica raised a brow. "How'd you get out of that one?"

"Damon came to save me, but I ended up saving him. Amazing what you can talk your way out of."

Jessica couldn't argue with that at all.

"Anyway, I'm meeting some friends tonight at the Grill- that's our local hangout. I don't like being cooped up in the house all day, and I imagine neither do you."

She didn't like it at all. Between school and her volunteer job at the nursing home, she was hardly ever home. Usually on a Sunday she would be out _somewhere_. "That would be great." Jessica smiled.

* * *

Jules pulled up the car to the Mystic Grill. Tyler looked at his old hangout longingly, wanting nothing more than to sink his teeth into the grill's famous steak sandwich.

"You know why we're here. Get her and get out." She said sternly.

"Yeah…" He said, but didn't move, which earned him a sharp look.

"Are you sure you're up for this Tyler?" Jules asked, softening.

"Are you sure Damon's not here?"

"I would have sniffed out that vile weasel miles ago." She scoffed. "Look, just get her to come outside, I'll take care of the rest."

* * *

"You're not going anywhere." Damon had his arms crossed over his chest in the universal stern father pose.

"Elena will be with me." Jessica pointed out.

"So our werewolf friend can kill both of you instead of just Jessica… great thinking there, Elena."

Elena stepped in. "Look, if you need a vampire to look after her, Caroline will be there."

"Vampire Barbie? I don't think so." Damon scoffed.

"What about Stefan?"

"Vegan Vampire? Even better."

"Look," Jessica began, "I _need _to get out of the house."

"It's been one day." Damon pointed out. It was logical and it made her seethe that he made sense.

But it wasn't about that. Sure, she could stay in if she wanted to… but she needed to know that she wasn't a prisoner here. That she _was allowed _toleave.

Her freedom had always been important to her, especially since her emancipation at age 16. One can only do so much for an alcoholic mother and she wasn't going to let that woman's problems define her life.

Suddenly being told no as if she were a child again really grated on her nerves.

"Jessica." His voice cut through her thoughts. He looked at her seriously. "It's been one day. Relax."

She locked gazes with the blue eyed vampire, then took off in a huff.

Elena looked at Damon with both amusement and annoyance. "Good one."

* * *

**AN: bududum. I took this as an opportunity to write one of my favorite characters in the show. Sheriff Liz Forbes! We may be seeing more of her in the future. If you're a fan of other characters, fear not, I think I'm going to have a place for almost everyone in this story. Stay tuned! I'll try to have the next chapter out sooner this time around.**


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